The present invention relates to a metallurgical vessel, which has an outer surface and an identification tag arranged on the outer surface. The identification tag has a carrier matrix in which a passive transponder is arranged. The carrier matrix is made of a material which is electrically and thermally insulating.
The present invention relates in addition to an operating method for a reading station, arranged within a metallurgical plant at a tracking position. The station has the purpose of tracking the path of a metallurgical vessel on which at least one passive transponder is arranged.
An antenna of the reading station initiates activation of the passive transponder if there is a metallurgical vessel of this type within a sensing range of the reading station. A reading unit of the reading station thereupon reads out the activated passive transponders and communicates the result of the reading to an evaluating unit in the reading station.
The present invention relates in addition to a reading station arranged within a metallurgical plant at a tracking position.
The reading station has an antenna for the purpose of initiating the activation of passive transponders arranged on a metallurgical vessel. The reading station has a reading unit for reading out the activated passive transponders on the metallurgical vessel and for communicating the data which is read out to an evaluating unit of the reading station. The reading station has the evaluating unit.
In metallurgical industrial plants, metallurgical vessels transport molten raw iron, molten steel, liquid slags, scrap and the like. For example, in a steel works a plurality of vessels are used in various parts of the plant. Depending on the capacity of the steel works, there can then be 30 or more vessels in use at the same time. These travel over various routes between the different parts of the plant. While this is taking place, a plant operator or crane driver must ensure that a particular vessel is brought to the correct place, and that the vessel is then used or stored in accordance with the requirements.
Both from the point of view of quality (least possible cooling down of the raw iron/steel bath in the vessel) and also on grounds of energy saving, the highest possible hot usage of vessels is aimed at. The vessels in a steel works are, for example, heated before being filled with steel from an electric arc oven. In addition, transportation of particular qualities of steel one after another in the same vessel is avoided, because residual small quantities of melt or metal remaining in a vessel from the previous filling can chemically influence the composition of the molten metal in the subsequent filling. This is the case, for example with particular qualities of stainless steel.
For this reason, the metallurgical vessels which are used are equipped with identification tags, the tags in particular containing special transponders. With the help of these identification tags, the metallurgical vessels which are being used can be unambiguously recognized and identified at the various tracking positions.
The identification tags for the metallurgical vessels are either permanently welded to the container which is to be identified, or are joined to it by a releasable screw connector. The transport of the vessels often damages the identification tags, or rips them off the metallurgical vessel which is to be identified. For this reason, the identification tags which are required for the identification must be repeatedly renewed or replaced.
Because of the harsh conditions which prevail in metallurgical industrial plants, there are not only mechanical stresses on the identification tags but also, because of the arrangement of the identification tags on the hot vessels, there are thermal stresses which result in the failure of the passive transponders which are used. A transponder failure of this sort leads to it no longer being possible to automatically recognize a vessel.
From DE 10 2008 011 288 A1, a brake lining for a disk brake is known, into which several transponders can be incorporated. Depending on the wear state of the brake lining, the transponders fail successively. Depending on which, and possibly also how many, of the transponders react to a read signal from a reading device, it is thus possible to reach conclusions about the wear state of the brake lining.
It is known from US 2011/0 140 970 A1 that a human object can be provided with a plurality of transponders. The plurality of transponders serves to ensure a reliable recognition of the object, even if individual transponders are obscured, i.e. if for example the human object itself or another human object or another item is positioned between one of the transponders and a station which recognizes the transponder.